Building record MAB3048 - BRODIE CASTLE

Brodie Castle, a Z plan castle built in circa 1567 by Alexander Brodie, 12th Brodie of Brodie, with considerable 19th century Scottish Baronial alterations and additions.

Brodie Castle, a Z-plan castle built in circa 1567 by Alexander Brodie, 12th Brodie of Brodie, with considerable 19th Century Scottish Baronial alterations and additions. Additions were started by William Burn in 1824 (including an Elizabethan extension) and completed by James Wylson between circa 1840-1852. Further alterations and additions occurred in 1846. Restoration work was carried out between 1978-1980, and in 1980 the castle was renovated and re-harled by Rubert Hurt and Partners. Burns stayed a night at the castle in 1787.

The Brodie family has been settled at Brodie since the 11th or 12th Century, and the castle was handed over to the National Trust for Scotland by Ninian, 25th Brodie, in 1980. The south tower is thought to be part of the original keep. The first structure was a standard Z-plan tower house, having a rectangular block with square projecting towers at the southwest and northeast. It was constructed in circa 1567 and may incorporate parts of an earlier building. The southwest tower and main block now occupy the west half of the south front. Early in the 17th Century, a west wing was added and in the 19th Century a two-bayed east wing was built east of the main structure. The castle was plundered and burned in 1645. On Roy's Military Map of 1747-55, Brodie is shown to be surrounded by a series of rectangular enclosures, with the main approach from the west. A 1770 Estate map shows considerable elaboration of the landscape. The 18th Century was the pinnacle of development of the designed landscape with the establishment of the formal gardens. Bankruptcy in 1774 was staved off by Brodie's father-in-law. The gardens were removed in the early-19th century before part of the area was infilled with midden material in the mid-19th Century.

Several episodes of building and repair are apparent on the northeast tower, indicating it may originally have formed part of an L-plan castle, which has subsequently been altered, most notably by the reworking of the wall heads along the tower and the west wing. As the stonework of the east wall of the northeast tower continues along the line of the east wall of the adjoining hall, without any clear change in build, it is likely that the two structures are contemporary. This implies that an L-plan castle was altered in the mid-16th Century by the addition of the southwest tower to form the Z-plan, central to the castle design of today (see DES 1998, 66).

The interior entrance hall is a circa 1845 adaption of an earlier vaulted undercroft by James Wylson, with stumpy columns that have foliated capitals. There are also re-set inscribed stone plaques. The library, again from circa 1845, is lined with wooden bookcases that are under a continuous egg and dart frieze. The blue sitting room has a vaulted ceiling with embossed plaster motifs and strapwork from 1635-1640. The red drawing room was originally the first-floor hall of 1567. The castle was re-decorated in the 1820s by William Burn and there is now a groined plaster ceiling and an ornate panelled chimneypiece with carved figures rising to ceiling height. The dining room is in the former first floor hall of the 17th Century wing. There is a late-17th Century, heavily embossed ceiling, which was grained and stained in circa 1825. The panelling and doors are also grained. The drawing room, by William Burn in 1824, has painted decoration on the architraves and overdoors, and a ceiling probably dating from 1860s - restored in 1982. The best bed chamber (the Laird’s room) has a 17th Century plaster ceiling frieze and corner motifs with a lintel dated 1602.

Rodney's Stone, a Pictish stone with a cross and interlacing patterns, is sited at the east entrance of the park (MAB3045). The Station Lodge (MAB3057) is sited circa 500 meters to the south of the castle. The West Lodge (MAB3056) is sited circa 450 meters to the west of the castle. See MAB49765 for the East Lodge. The 19th Century Brodie family burial ground can also be found within the grounds, to the southwest of the castle.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 24/1/83 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 8/6/82 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

THE SCOTSMAN, 0000, THE SCOTSMAN, 5/4/82 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1819.

DOUGLAS, R, 1931, DOVECOTS OF MORAY, 18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB365.

DYKE WRI, 1966, A HISTORY OF DYKE & MOY, 5-6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB359.

DOE, 1966, A M's SCOT, 63-4, ILL (Bibliographic reference). SAB353.

HARTLEY, C, 1980, BRODIE CASTLE, MORAY, 466-557 (Bibliographic reference). SAB733.

ADAMS, D. G., 1991, USAN OR FISHTOWN OF ULLISHARA, p59-60 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2181.

STABLE BLOCK

EWART, G, 1995, DES : BRODIE CASTLE, 36 (Bibliographic reference). SAB474.

STABLE BLOCK

SHEPHERD, I, 1996, ABERDEEN AND NORTH-EAST SCOTLAND (2ND ED), p. 95 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4829.

EWART, G, 1996, DES, 75 (Bibliographic reference). SAB468.

DUNN, A, 1998, DES : BRODIE CASTLE, 66 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2445.

BUILDING RECORDING

LEWIS, J, 1998, DES ; BRODIE CASTLE, 66 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1107.

DESIGNED LANDSCAPE

KIRKDALE ARCHAEOLOGY, 1999, BRODIE CASTLE : ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDING VOL 1+ 2., VOL'S 1+2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1004.

RECORDING FEATURES

ADDYMAN, T, 2000, Brodie Castle, SW Tower. DES 2000 p60., p60 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2182.

SW TOWER

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2012, PROPOSED PLAY AREA, BRODIE CASTLE, MORAY: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION, Eval rep (Bibliographic reference). SAB5060.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p.123 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2014, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 14, 2013, p.129 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5483.

Aug 2 1985 , AAS/85/09/S2/2-4, AAS/85/09/S2/2-4 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB30192.

Aug 3 1980 , AAS/88/07/S13/1, AAS/88/07/S13/1 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB30193.

Aug 17 1984 , BZ 9-14, BZ 9-14 (Ground Photograph). SAB30194.

Aug 17 1984 , CM 3-4, CM 3-4 (Ground Photograph). SAB30189.

Jul 8 1984 , AAS/84/03/S1/1-20, AAS/84/03/S1/1-20 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB30191.

Jul 18 2000 , AAS/00/10/CT40, AAS/00/10/CT40 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31561.

May 2 2016 , AAS-GR-16-05-015 - 042, AAS-GR-16-05-015 - 042 (Ground Photograph). SAB33962.

NTS, n.d., BRODIE CASTLE, A TOUR OF HOUSE, LEAFLET (Bibliographic reference). SAB1274.

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 2/4/77 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 21/11/81 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 21/5/83 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 28/6/80 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Author unknown, n.d., THE NORTHERN SCOT, 6/11/82 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1270.

Sep 20 1984 , DL 1-18, DL 1-18 (Ground Photograph). SAB30190.

Record last edited

Sep 25 2026 12:57PM